Charred
by mocothecat4218
Summary: Things couldn't be going better in the kingdom of Arendelle. Trade relations are good, Elsa has a good handle on her ice powers, and Anna is engaged to be married to Kristoff. However, the royals face trouble yet again when a face from their past returns, allied with a mysterious enemy and stronger than ever. Story contains original characters, but hardly any romance.
1. Chapter 1

**Welcome to my first Frozen fanfiction! As this is a short chapter, I uploaded two so you can get a better feel of the story and what it will be about :)**

**Also, I have another story on this site in the Frozen category. It is called ****From Behind Closed Doors****, and it's a series of letters from Elsa to Anna while they're teenagers. It will eventually go all the way up to the events of the movie. **

**Disclaimer: Frozen belongs to Disney, not to me-as do all recognizable characters.**

**Also, there will be no romance in this book. Maybe in future books, but not in this one.**

**Enjoy!**

Prologue

Hans nervously paced the throne room. He'd failed to become ruler of the kingdom of Arendelle-and the person he was currently working for didn't believe in second chances.

Just then the doors opened and a man walked in. His eyes seemed to be somewhere far away, as if he were only half present-which he was. Blaze was constantly making and perfecting plans, and his mind was never in one place for very long. He was dead set on world domination and would do anything to reach that goal-no matter how ruthless.

"Your Highness, I'm sorry. I tried to claim Arendelle and dispose of the ice witch and her sister, but-"

"But you didn't, Hans. I really don't know what to say. Obviously, you can't be trusted to carry out a simple task, so I really have no use for you. The plan was very clear, and I gave you extension after extension to fulfill it, but you still failed." Blaze shrugged, sounding almost bored.

"Just give me a chance! This time, I promise I won't let you down."

The man laughed drily and hollowly. "Charming, but the gloves have come off. I'm taking matters into my own hands now. Arendelle could be a powerful trading partner, but it would never alliance with my empire willingly. We need to cripple it and leave it defenseless-how better to do that than to kill their queen? Or have her disappear off the face of the planet?" He caught sight of the look on Hans's face. "Oh, don't worry, Hans. I will kill Elsa, but I will do it on my own terms: slowly and painfully. I will have her practically begging for death."

"What about her sister?"

"What is there to worry about? Anna poses no threat. When the time comes, she can easily be dealt with."

"I want to help. Please, give me another chance." Hans practically begged.

"Both the princess and the queen hate you. You could never just walk into the palace and pretend that nothing happened between the three of you. It's too late for that. You'd be arrested on sight."

"But I have certain information that could be vital: things that she told me about Elsa when she thought that we were on the same side. If we can get the queen out of her palace and away from her guards…."

"I like the way you think. What is your information?"

"I'll tell you on one condition."

"Which is?"

"I want to be the one to ultimately kill Elsa to fulfill my mission-no matter what."

"Deal. Hans, this is your final chance. You're on borrowed time from here on out."

"I will not fail you. If I may be so bold, my King, I would ask you to remember that Elsa's ice powers are not to be taken lightly." Hans had seen their effects himself.

Blaze chuckled. The sound sent shivers shooting down Hans's spine. "You seem to forget that she isn't the only one with powers." He summoned a small ball of fire that came to rest just above his palm. "Heat can melt ice."


	2. The Warning

Chapter 1-The Warning

"Elsa! Elsa, wake up!"

"Ugh…what is it, Anna?" Elsa buried her head in her pillow and tried to forget the nightmare she'd just had. In it, she was on the frozen fjord again, having just realized that she'd killed her sister-accidentally, of course, but killed her nonetheless. Obviously, Anna hadn't died, and in the year since what the citizens had nicknamed 'the Great Thaw', Elsa had learned to exert a lot more control over her cryokinetic powers. However, she couldn't always stop the nightmares. She still harbored lingering fear and guilt from the incident, though Anna had told her again and again not to worry about it. She doubted those feelings would ever fully leave her.

"Do you really not remember what day it is?" Anna asked skeptically. She was across the room, wrestling with the heavy shutters that covered her sister's bedroom window.

"Let's see…it's a Tuesday, correct?"

"Yes, but it's not just any Tuesday!"

"Is there some festival I should be aware of?" Elsa was enjoying watching her sister squirm. Of course she knew what day it was. Everyone in Arendelle knew what day today was.

"No…" Anna succeeded in opening the window and golden sunlight streamed into the bedroom. Elsa could already see that it was going to be a beautiful day. _Perfect weather, check. _"Today's my wedding day!"

Of course. Anna's wedding to an ice harvester named Kristoff Bjorgman. Anna had been talking about nothing else for months, as she wanted to make sure everything was exactly perfect. She'd roped a reluctant Elsa into being the head wedding coordinator and the sisters had had endless debates over who should be invited, what food should be served, what flowers should serve as centerpieces, what Anna's wedding dress should look like, and what flavor the wedding cake should be. The list had only gotten longer as the ceremony drew closer since Anna was always adding to it.

"I know, I know…you don't have to wake the entire kingdom up yet. I'm coming…just give me a minute…" Sleepily, Elsa forced herself to leave the warm shelter of her bed and stood up. Absentmindedly, she sent a small vein of ice racing up a nearby wall, but for once she didn't worry about it. It wouldn't matter today.

Anna was now standing in front of a full length mirror, examining her dress from all angles. "Do I look all right?" She fingered the lacy bodice. "Are you sure there's enough lace on here?"

Elsa laughed. "Don't worry. You look beautiful. I'm really happy for you, Anna. Truly."

Anna beamed. "I know."

She'd had no trouble securing Elsa's blessing. Anna and Kristoff had been steadily dating for almost a year, and anyone could see that they were perfect for each other. You could even use the words 'true love', if you really wanted to. Things had moved quite fast after the first initial engagement announcement. Every artisan in the kingdom had stepped up to the task, determined to make the royal wedding the biggest event on the year's social calendar. Elsa had done what she could, but she'd mostly left things to her sister and her panel of experts. She knew beyond a reasonable doubt that everything was in good hands.

Anna finished working on her hair and fled from the room, muttering something about having to check on the cake. Elsa dressed quickly and followed, making sure that her sister didn't get too excited and make any decisions she'd regret later. She'd tried to prepare for every possible eventuality and had extra cake, invitations, and even another dress at her beck and call for whatever emergency might come up.

She didn't know that an unknown man had managed to sneak past the palace guards.

"Hans escaped from the Southern Isles."

"Wait-what?" Anna went cold. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently, they came to check on him this morning and he was gone. There's no trace of him anywhere. The strangest thing is that his cell door was completely burnt down. I'm sure things will be fine, though. There's no way he could have found a boat out of the Isles that quickly." Kristoff finished reassuringly. "That's the bad news. I just thought we should get that out of the way." He flashed her a smile. "You look great today, Anna. Very…regal."

"Thanks. So do you. You look really handsome in that suit. Yeah…very handsome and-" Kristoff kissed her lightly, effectively cutting off her stream of chatter.

"That was a nice way to tell me to shut up." Anna said, feeling suddenly light headed. "I should go tell Elsa about Hans quick. She'll want to double security and things like that…"

"Anna, I've never seen your sister so relaxed. Just let her enjoy the ceremony, okay? You can always tell her later. Besides, it's probably the case that he'll never bother you again. To try to attack you or your sister now would be suicidal. Tell the guards to make sure everyone has a ticket and we'll be fine. This is our day. Hans doesn't get to ruin it."

"Yeah, you're right." Despite her words, Anna still felt doubtful. However, she pushed her doubts aside, as the prospect of the coming ceremony was making her both excited and nervous. Just then, the church bells tolled in the distance, chiming out the hours. "Oh no! Only three more hours until the ceremony." Anna bit her lip regretfully. "I have to go, Kristoff-there's too much to do and not enough time."

By the time Anna won her last argument with the florist, all thoughts of Hans had been completely driven from her mind.

The small palace chapel began to fill up two hours before the wedding officially started-and that was only because the guards began allowing people to go in. Everyone wanted to get the best seats. The air was filled with excited voices talking in hushed whispers, relishing the fact that they had had a chance to watch the royal wedding. Undoubtedly, they would pass this memory along for generations to come.

At precisely eleven o'clock, Anna made her entrance. She heard sharps intakes of breath from most members of the crowd and blushed; instinctively shrinking away from the unwanted attention.

Just then, she saw Kristoff. He was standing at the altar, waiting for her. He also looked just as if not more nervous than she was. Anna smiled. Her previous fear and worries completely drained away as she remembered why she was here: to be married with her true love. She steeled herself, waved at a few excited little girls in one of the back rows, and began to walk down the aisle.

The wedding went off without a hitch. An hour later, Anna and Kristoff were leading the way to the castle for the reception while Elsa stayed behind to check notes with security. Anna felt almost delirious with happiness. This day was truly a dream come true. She felt like she was walking on fairy dust all through brunch and her first dance with Kristoff-and all the ones after that. She was barely aware of the other couples that took to the dance floor, waltzing in time with the music.

Elsa had taken up a post near the back of the room, where she would be out of the way. She didn't have a date for the party, but that was fine by her. She liked watching the others dancing-the normal ones who would never have to worry about controlling their powers. Occasionally, she would dust the dance floor with a light covering of snow. They were small flakes that melted almost as soon as they touched the floor. She allowed herself to be swept up in the happiness and carefree nature of the moment, watching her sister begin her happily ever after.

"Don't move."

Elsa stiffened, as she recognized that voice. It had been haunting her nightmares for weeks. _Your sister is dead…because of you. _She shook her head and tried to clear it but was forced to stop when her forehead brushed the cool metal of a gun barrel. Hans was holding a gun to her head.

"You should be locked up." Elsa replied calmly. She reassured herself that she was in control of the situation. With just one hand gesture, Hans would be caught and locked up-for good this time. Also, if he wanted to get to her sister, he'd have to get through her first. And that wasn't going to happen. "Why are you here?" She figured that if he'd gone to all that trouble to get here, she might as well hear him out.

"To warn you."

"About what?" She scanned through her list of potential enemies. She had none. _Just fear mongering. Don't let him get to you._

"You are being hunted. Certain people want you dead."

"I know that. Leave now, or I will get palace security to…escort you out. And they won't be as courteous as I'm being right now." Death threats were just another part of having magical powers.

"You'd be dead before the fools realized what was going on-and I'll go for Anna next. It's a happy day for her, isn't it? How do you think blood would look against that white dress?"

Elsa grit her teeth and spared a quick glance at the dance floor. Anna was still dancing and talking to Kristoff. She seemed to be blissfully unaware of what was going on at the back of the room. "If you're here to give me a warning, you'd have come unarmed like a regular gentleman. So, are you going to kill me?"

"Of course not. And Elsa, we both know that I am not a regular gentleman."  
>"Far from it. Are you going to take me somewhere, then?"<p>

"No. You're safe-for the time being, of course. You won't be safe for long." Hans started to melt into the crowd of revelers. "If you know what's good for you and your sister, you won't sic your guards on me." He fired a warning shot that just grazed her right ear. The bullet landed with a solid thunk in the woodwork of the archway behind her. By the time Elsa had managed to pry it out of the wall, Hans was gone.

The party had completely stopped at the sound of the gunshot. Palace guards were standing at sharp attention, scanning the room tersely for any spies or enemies. Anna hiked up her skirts and walked over to Elsa. "What happened? That sounded like a gunshot." she commented.

Elsa examined the bullet closely. It was a perfect metal sphere. It was strange that it could do so much damage to people, as it was very small. "We'll talk about it later. Don't worry about me-this is your party." She tried to smile reassuringly, though her mind kept turning over Hans' words. It was probably nothing, but what if there were truth to his words? What if she and her sister were in danger?

The reception seemed more subdued after that. One by one, the guests started to leave, telling Anna how beautiful she looked and wishing her and Kristoff many happy years. Finally, the room had emptied of guests. A few servants were hurrying to and fro with cleaning supplies, as the room could easily be mistaken for a disaster area. Elsa led Anna and Kristoff back to her study, where they'd be able to talk privately.

"Anna, did you know that Hans escaped from the Southern Isles this morning?" Elsa asked. She had a massive migraine-and the stack of papers in the center of her desk didn't help matters at all.

"Yes, but I'm sure it's nothing to worry about. I mean, he wouldn't be stupid enough to try and hurt us again. We have top notch security, and-" Anna was babbling, the way she always did when she got nervous.

"He was here."

"What do you mean?"

"Hans came up to me at the reception. He said I was being hunted. That noise you heard was a gunshot. It came from his gun-it was meant to be a warning shot."

"Why didn't you tell someone? Security could have gotten him." Anna seemed to be getting more flustered by the moment, wondering how she'd missed something as big as her ex-boyfriend showing up at her wedding.

"I had a gun pressed to my head, Anna. He would've shot me if I said anything."

"Why didn't I see-"

"He was quiet-very smooth. Besides, you were a little busy at the moment."

"Elsa, I'm really sorry. I should've told you, but you've been so relaxed lately. I didn't want you to worry over a false alarm." Anna tried not to think about how things could have turned out.

"We're talking about Hans-the man who did whatever he could to try to get our throne the first time. Of course he'd try again. Where did you hear the news from?"

Kristoff stepped forward. "That would be me. I heard people talking about it down near the docks. Apparently, it's some big scandal in the Southern Isles. We'll find him. What I'd like to know is how he got from the Southern Isles to here in a day."

"We'll find out soon enough. I just hope we're not too late. I'm going to go set something up with border patrol."

"No-I'll do it." Anna countered quietly. "Stay here, Elsa."

"Anna, I'm not afraid of him."

"But what if he's not alone this time? What if he's working for or with someone? I know you're not afraid, but I'm afraid for you."

"Fine. Kristoff, go with her. If you see any suspicious behavior, report back to me immediately."

"That was implied."

Elsa paced restlessly for the remainder of the day. She felt caged. They'd had to close the palace gates for security reasons, and she got the feeling that had plagued her for most of her life-a feeling of being hopelessly out of control. In her room she entertained herself by creating piles of ice and drifts of snow that reached the ceiling. She couldn't concentrate on anything, much less trade meetings. She'd instructed everyone-even Olaf the snowman-to leave her alone unless it was absolutely necessary.

She couldn't believe that Anna hadn't told her about Hans. When she thought about how the wedding could have gone, she couldn't help worrying about her little sister. She was practically asking to be used as bait in some murderer's scheme. Granted, Kristoff would never let Anna get hurt, but there were a billion things that could happen or go wrong in a situation like this. Someday, she might not be able to rely on Kristoff.

There was only one thing she could do to ensure that her family-and her kingdom-would be truly safe-no matter what happened.

When Anna got back, Elsa was just closing the latches on a heavy brown suitcase. "What's going on?" she asked curiously.

"I'm going to the ice palace for a few days." Elsa said briskly. She knew she was doing nothing wrong, but she still didn't meet her sister's eyes.

"Why?"

"I don't want you to get hurt. Just give me two weeks, Anna. That's all I ask."

Two weeks seemed like a long time to Anna, but her sister was almost pleading with her. "Fine, but if you aren't back in two weeks I'm going after you myself-and you're not going to stop me."

Elsa nodded to save time. She'd seen Anna in moods like this-she wouldn't be taking no for an answer. "I'll be careful."

"Take some guards with you, just to be on the safe side."

"Anna, it could be too dangerous. Besides, it's very cold on the North Mountain this time of year."

"As you wish, but come back as soon as you can-preferably before the two week marker."

"I will."

The two sisters shared a quick embrace. Elsa left soon after. Though she was in no particular hurry, she wanted to reach the Ice Palace before it got dark. She had no desire to be killed by wolves, much less sociopaths.

It had been three days since Elsa's departure, and Anna couldn't help but worry. It was obvious that someone was out to hurt Elsa and maybe herself-though whether it was Hans or someone else remained to be seen. Elsa was now alone on a frozen mountain hours away and far from any human contact. If something happened to her up there, no one would know.

She tried to distract herself by spending as much time with Kristoff. He turned out to be a very good planner, as their days had been filled with boat trips and picnics. They'd even went north for a day to cut ice with Sven and Olaf. She'd had a lot of fun, but her sister was never far from her mind. She sensed there was more to Hans' situation than first met the eye, but they didn't know all of the puzzle pieces yet. It was like she was walking blindly into a nest of lies and troubles.

On the third night, Anna dreamed that she was walking to the ice palace, as she had a thousand times. However, something was different. Something was terribly wrong-the palace was ringed in red and black. She felt her heart speed up and wrenched open the front door. She had to find her sister.

Anna wandered through one room after another, but there was no trace of Elsa.

Just then, she woke up. Her heart was thumping furiously, as if she'd just run all the way back from the North Mountain. Kristoff was seated on the edge of her bed, looking concerned. "Anna, what's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

Anna was already pulling on her winter dress and shawl. "We have to go to the ice palace. Right now. Elsa is in danger."

**Like it? Hate it? Review, follow, and favorite. Feedback motivates me to write faster :)**


	3. The Visitors

**Onto chapter 2! **

Chapter 2-The Visitors

The walk to the ice palace took longer than Elsa thought it would. By the time she reached the familiar slope of the North Mountain, the sun had long set. Most of the snow was covered in shadow and Elsa had to watch where she set her foot for fear of hollow holes or burrows in the ground that could give way at any moment. However, she felt all her previous worries fall away as she caught her first sight of her ice palace over the crest of the hill.

Since the Great Thaw, Elsa had tried to take some time to spend long weekends by herself at the ice palace. The ice palace was a special place where she could take a break from the hectic pace of life at the castle without worrying about what others might think. She'd associated it with bad memories at first-after all, she'd almost killed people inside the ice palace's walls. She'd frozen Anna's heart.

However, that was all in the past now.

Inside the palace, nothing had changed. It never got above freezing this high up on the North Mountain, so everything was just as she'd left it. She saw the ice end table that she'd created during her last visit in the exact same spot where it had been months later. The couch still looked out over the valley, and the table in the dining hall was still set for seven people. _It's almost as if I'd never left, _Elsa thought wryly. _If only the circumstances were better..._

She climbed the stairs to the master bedroom and cast off her travelling cloak, hanging it on a convenient coat hook on the back of her bedroom door. It served as a reminder of Arendelle and its problems, all of which were blissfully far away from her at the moment.

Elsa wished there was a way that she could let Anna know that she'd arrived safely. She knew her sister would no doubt be worried sick on her wedding night. She tried to mentally contact her sister, as she'd been able to sometimes do when they were younger, but she couldn't feel her sister's presence. Elsa promised herself that she'd try again in the morning, as she was exhausted. She lay down on the four poster bed she'd fashioned on her last visit and was asleep within minutes.

The next three days passed in relative bliss. The weather was cool and clear every day and Elsa spent a lot of time outside. Sometimes she stood on the ice palace's balcony and looked out at Arendelle, contemplating the situation at hand. She hoped it would die down in two weeks, if not sooner, as she had no desire to start conflicts with other countries. She wanted to go back to the castle and make sure that Anna wasn't having trouble ruling her subjects but she knew that she couldn't. Not yet, anyway.

On her third night at the ice palace, she was graced with the rare opportunity to watch the Northern Lights. The changing and shifting colors never ceased to amaze her, even though she'd been watching the Lights for most of her life. It was the same natural phenomena that had awoken Anna so many years ago.

She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't notice the man making his way up the mountain until it was too late.

"Queen Elsa. Hans said I would find you here."

Elsa spun around. Someone was standing in the doorway of the ice palace, holding a short knife.

"Who are you and what do you want?" she asked, keeping her cool-for the moment. She summoned an icicle with a razor sharp edge-almost like a dagger-just in case. In case the man was a psychopath-she'd encountered them on the streets of Arendelle numerous times before-it couldn't hurt to be armed.

"I'd just like to talk. No need to get so defensive." the newcomer smirked. "Would you like to come inside?"

Reluctantly, Elsa followed him into the sitting room. The man sat down on one of the couches with a flourish, as if he owned the ice palace and everything in it. "Tea?" He pulled a small thermos out of his back pocket and filled a small metal cup with the steaming liquid.

"No, thank you."

"Not friendly, obviously." He drained the cup with one gulp. "Very well. We'll get right down to business then. My name is Blaze, king of the Northern Lands. Soon, my empire will extend much further than that, though. I have plans to conquer most of the known world."

"Very likely."

He summoned a ball of fire. It hovered above his fingertips, as if daring Elsa to argue with him. "I can also summon fire. I suggest you not cross me. I can be quite…harsh, if I care to be."

Elsa rolled her eyes. "All right then. I still don't see why you're in my palace."

"Any threats to my new empire have to be eliminated."

"So you consider me a threat. How nice."

Blaze smiled wanly. "I'm giving you a choice, Elsa. Think very carefully before you make your decision, as I do not offer second chances. You can either sign Arendelle over to my control and peacefully abdicate the throne. On the other hand, you can be killed slowly and painfully."

"What makes you think I'll make a choice either way?" Elsa was confident that Blaze posed no threat to her. She wasn't scared of his fire magic-on the contrary, that just made things interesting.

"Because, you have one very great weakness-your sister, Anna, who is currently awaiting your return. I have spies stationed closer than you think. With one command, I can order them to kill your sister and her husband."

"How do I know that you're not lying?"

"I thought we might hit this little snag-" Blaze pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to Elsa. It was a piece of white fabric that had clearly come from Anna's wedding dress. "I hope you will find this sufficient."

Elsa shook her head. "I don't. You'll have to do better than that. Now leave-before you overstay your welcome."

"I'm afraid you'll have to come with me. We can't exactly have you telling anyone about me now, can we?" Blaze easily got to his feet. His fire seemed to glow with an angry red light.

"Never."

He grinned. "I hoped it would come to this. Let's see which is stronger-fire or ice. I'd bet money on fire." Blaze glanced around the room. "Actually, let's take this outside. We wouldn't want this beautiful room to accidentally melt, would we?"

Elsa complied. She could think better in the open air anyway. The guy was crafty-she had to give him that.

A breeze had picked up while the two were inside. It whistled around Elsa as Blaze threw a ball of fire directly at her head. She blocked it instinctively and immediately adjusted her tactics-Blaze had been aiming directly for her head. She sent ice as thin as spider silk spiraling at her opponent, intending to trap him.

Blaze deflected them easily and began another counterattack. The two dueled back and forth for quite a while. Neither gained the upper hand; they were evenly matched in skill.

Just then, Blaze slipped on the wet snow, giving Elsa just enough time to pin the collar of his shirt with an icicle as large as her arm. "I guess we have a winner." she said smugly. "Though you did fight well, Blaze. I'm impressed."

Blaze was still smiling maniacally, though he'd been defeated. "Did I give you the fabric? My apologies-I meant to give you this." He handed her a small figurine. Elsa recognized it instantly, because she'd watched Anna pick it out after weeks of debate.

It was the figure of a couple dancing that had previously sat on top of her wedding cake. Only two copies had been made-one for the real cake and another for the backup cake. It couldn't have been forged. "Where did you get this?"

"My spies are closer than you think, Elsa."

"What did you do to her?"

"Nothing-yet. Just come with us and no one has to get hurt."

"Us? What do you mean-"

Just then, other people wearing vests identical to Blaze's stepped out from the shadows of the palace. There had to be at least ten of them-and each was holding a loaded crossbow.

Elsa whirled on Blaze. "You tricked me!"

He shrugged. "It's only another way to play the game. You don't have to look so scandalized."

Just then, Hans stepped forward. "Lights out, Elsa."

Before Elsa had time to respond, he smashed his crossbow down on her head.

"Elsa! Where are you? I have to talk you!" Anna called, running ahead of Kristoff, Sven, and Olaf. "It's an emergency!" She knew the trick was a cheap one but hoped that Elsa would come running to see what the matter was.

She didn't.

Anna realized that she was standing on a flat and quite deserted mountain plateau. The ice palace should be here…she'd passed up the staircase that led to its front gates, but the palace itself was completely gone.

"Um, Anna? Are you sure we're in the right place?" Kristoff asked doubtfully.

"Yes, we are."

"So…where's the ice palace?"

"I don't know. It should be there." Dread was beginning to pulse through her. "I don't know where it went."

"How in the world did we miss a castle made of ice? How many of them are there?"

"None, except for Elsa's. And you don't miss it-unless it's been moved…or destroyed. Let's scout out the area. There have to be some clues. If anything looks out of place, tell me."

For about ten minutes, they searched the surrounding area in complete silence. They moved methodically from one side of the mountain to the other and back again.

"Anna, I don't think Elsa is here." Kristoff said. "Maybe we missed her on the way here. She could be back at the palace by now."

"Maybe…but I don't think so." Just then, Anna noticed something glinting in the snow-small flames that didn't seem to be bothered by the winter wind. They spelled out words: HEAT WILL MELT ICE.

Anna knew then that something was very, very wrong.

She rejoined the search with doubled efforts, but it eventually proved worthless. She was forced to confront her worried thoughts. "I know why we can't find the palace."

"Why not?"

"It's not here anymore. All Elsa's hard work…has been melted."

"Melted? Are you sure?"

She pointed out the message. "Someone was here before us-and they got Elsa." Anna was really starting to panic. "What are we going to do, Kristoff?"

"We'll have to look for carriage tracks or footprints-anything that will tell us where they might have gone. There has to be something."

Just then, Olaf came up to them. In their rush, neither Anna nor Kristoff had filled them in on the real reason for their emergency trip up the mountain. "Hey guys! What's going on? Where's Elsa?"

"We don't know. She's not here."

"Oh. Listen, I don't know if this helps, but there's a set of carriage tracks that leads off in this direction." When Anna looked where the snowman pointed, she noticed for the first time the bare outlines of wheel ruts in the snow.

"Olaf, you're a genius!" she cried as she rushed to follow the tracks.

"Wait Anna!" Kristoff called, but his voice was lost on the wind. "One of these days she's going to get herself killed if she's not more careful." he muttered as he ran to catch up to her.

They followed the carriage tracks for the next two hours. They seemed to meander and lead nowhere: over hills, through valleys, down treacherous ravines, and around frozen forests. The tracks became fainter and fainter until they disappeared altogether in the afternoon sunlight.

"They're gone." Anna said flatly. She couldn't quite believe that the best lead she'd had to find her sister had now vanished.

"They're at least a day old, Anna. Besides, these people could be miles from here by now. We took a long time up on the mountain, you know. We should go back." Kristoff said.

"No. I have to find Elsa. What if she's in danger?"

"There's nothing we can do right now. We lost the trail."

"I'm not leaving her to die. You saw what it said-heat will melt ice."

"If they really do have Elsa, they obviously want something. They won't kill her until they get what they want. The best thing we can do right now is to go back to Arendelle and wait for a ransom to arrive." Kristoff said logically.

Anna sighed. "I guess…but I still have a really bad feeling about this." She stared at the carriage tracks, silently willing more of them to appear.

"Elsa can take care of herself if it comes to that, Anna. As soon as the ransom comes, we'll keep looking. Deal?"

She nodded despondently, not entirely convinced that she'd made the right choice.

Elsa didn't know how long she was out cold. She came to in an otherwise empty carriage, sore from hours of travel. The carriage had currently stopped. Outside the canvas wagon cover, she could hear the sounds of boots and loud voices. Just then, the carriage door opened and Hans stepped in. "Welcome to your new home."

The carriage had come to a stop in front of an imposing red brick building. "What is this place?" Elsa asked somewhat curiously.

"Welcome to the palace of King Blaze. Don't bother trying to run. There are guards for a hundred miles in any direction. You'd never get away unseen."

Elsa fact checked his statement and found it accurate. "Fine, but I still don't know why you want me."

"That's for us to know and you to find out."

She was led into the castle and passed through many winding hallways until she reached a dungeon cell. "You'll stay here until you're ready to sign Arendelle over to Blaze's control." Hans explained.

"And what if I refuse to?"

He shrugged indifferently. "There's still your sister. I doubt she would like to see you die." He slammed the door and padlocked it twice from the outside. "And don't try to freeze you way out. Your powers don't work here."

Elsa realized that he was right. As hard as she concentrated, she couldn't summon a single snowflake. She examined every inch of the cell, looking for any escape route or flaw the room might have. However, her search revealed nothing helpful. There didn't seem to be any way out of the cell besides the locked door.

As much as Elsa hated to admit it, she was trapped for the time being.

A day passed and then another. Nothing came.

Anna couldn't sleep. Why was nothing coming, not even a ransom note? What were they waiting for? Elsa's captors could be torturing her now. Heck, she could even be dead by now…

No. They were sisters. Anna knew that she would know if Elsa had died.

No one, not even Olaf, had been informed that Elsa had gone missing. Anna and Kristoff had decided that it was best if the kingdom didn't know what was happening. However, they'd also been searching for leads and following up all of them-though they all turned out to be dead ends. Elsa had vanished, just like she had for thirteen long years. Unfortunately, a lot more now separated the two sisters than a closed door.

Anna was still getting to know her sister. Now it seemed like she was going to lose her again.

**And the story picks up…**

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	4. The Family

**Once again, I apologize for the super late update. My week (and weekend) got very busy very fast. **

**Anyway-back to the chapter!**

In light of recent events, Anna was crowned (temporary) Queen of Arendelle. She didn't want the title, but found that she didn't really have a choice. The citizens of the city were growing more restless by the day. They knew something was wrong, but they didn't know what it was-only that everything was not as it should be.

Meanwhile, Anna scheduled a meeting with one of Hans's older brothers-Friedrich, or Fred for short. Apparently, he had been the last one to see the former prince of the Southern Isles before he escaped.

"Good morning." she greeted him. Anna sat down across the long mahogany meeting table from him and handed him a warm cup of coffee. The meeting room was usually reserved for meetings of the Arendellien council, and it could comfortably seat at least fifty people. Now it was almost deserted and Anna shivered in spite of herself. The room's silence was too unnatural. It made her uncomfortable.

"Good morning, Princess Anna." he replied politely. Anna couldn't be sure, but she thought his smile looked genuine enough. "I'm sorry to hear about your sister."

"Well, hopefully you can give us the information we need to locate her. So, did you notice anything…different about Hans over the last few days before he escaped?"

"No, nothing different than usual. He was pacing and muttering things under his breath. I don't think he was even aware that I was there. Then again, things have been like that for a couple of months now."

"Could you make out what he was saying?"

"He mentioned Elsa a couple of times, along with the words fire, blaze, and ice. I was going to tell you, just in case there was some sort of danger that I wasn't aware of, but I was a bit prideful. I didn't think that Hans would really escape. Armed guards were stationed in front of his cell 24/7."

Anna turned over the prince's words in her mind. "What did Hans mean when he said 'blaze'?"

"No one's sure. He'd never mentioned someone named Blaze or anything that might refer back to that word before."

"After he escaped, Hans' cell door was burnt through, right?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Things were starting to fall into place: the melting of the ice palace, the message, and the burnt door. "Do you know of anyone who can wield fire?"

"Not personally. A long time ago, there was a family to the north of us who had that power. They ruled a small kingdom, harsh and ruthless, until their subjects overthrew them and slayed them all. That bloodline is now extinct. Fire powers may manifest in other generations, but it would be an extremely rare occurrence."

"What was the family's name?"

"I can't quite remember…something to do with fire…Flame? No, that's not it…."

"Could it be 'Blazean'?"

Fred nodded slowly. "Yes. Blazean. Exactly. How did you know?"

"Lucky guess. I don't think the entire family died. Thank you for your help, Fred. Arendelle will continue to trade with the Southern Isles."

Fred looked relieved, and Anna could guess why. Over the past few years, Arendelle had been experiencing a time of economic wealth. They'd become a powerful contender on the European trade market. If they cut ties with any of the countries they normally traded with, it could spell disaster for that country's economic system. The kingdom of Weselton had learned that the hard way. Their economy had never quite recovered since the Great Thaw.

Anna headed to the library, but was surprised when Fred followed her.

"May I help you with your research?" he asked, a little shyly. "I feel as if this is all my fault, and I'd like to make it up to you however I can."

Anna had to smile. "Of course. However, I know exactly which book I'm going to look in." She grabbed one of the thickest books on the shelves: The Rise and Fall of the Royal Families of Scandinavia. She'd spent hours poring over the book's lavish pages as a child, as had Elsa. She flipped through the pages now, stopping carefully at a full color picture of a golden eagle being engulfed in flame. She started to read the page adjacent to it, taking it slowly so she could grasp all of the words.

The Blaze Dynasty

Ruling in northern Denmark for almost 2,000 years, the Blaze family was infamously known for being cruel and ruthless. They took pleasure in muting their prisoners and political opponents, so no one would know how they tortured their prisoners in dungeons far below their palace. However, the Blazeans were always looking outward-their not-so-secret wish was to conquer the entire world.

The Blazeans ruled their kingdom with an iron fist, each king more ruthless than the last, until they were overthrown by a group of angry subjects after the well-publicized Wellman murders. To this day, it is not clear if all members of the dynasty were killed. Tales and rumors are still surfacing about Blazeans living in hiding, plotting a return to power. However, these have never been confirmed.

Cold fear pulsed through Anna. She had no doubt that a Blazean was behind everything. Fire and ice…it certainly fit, in a terrible way. She could only imagine what they were doing to her sister. Unfortunately, she couldn't launch a search party until she got a ransom. She kicked the wall in annoyance.

"Are you all right?" Fred asked.

Anna shook her head. "No. Not really." She turned away, needing complete silence to put the rest of the pieces together. How did Hans fit in to everything? Was he working for the Blazeans? For how long? Had he been feeding them information about her and Elsa-perhaps since before the Great Thaw? To avoid a stinging migraine, she came to the conclusion that Hans was definitely involved somehow. If she found Hans, she was sure that she could find Elsa.

The only problem was that Hans had disappeared off the map.

After a few hours of searching random books to fruitless results, Kristoff came into the room. He'd been out for most of the morning, meeting some old friends for a drink. "Hello, Anna." He caught sight of Fred and his eyes narrowed just the slightest bit. "Are you still in conference?"

"This is Fred. He wants to help us." Anna replied.

Kristoff nodded warily. "Did you find any new information?"

"Yes. I know who melted the ice palace-and probably captured Elsa."

"Good. Let's hear it."

"A Blazean: fire wielder." She explained everything she'd discovered or pieced together. "I don't know where he is, or even where to start looking."

"Well, if he's planning a return to power, wouldn't he be hiding somewhere far to the north-somewhere not many people go?" Fred spoke up.

Anna nodded. "Good point."  
>"Yes. That narrows the area slightly…to the entire northern hemisphere." Kristoff replied scathingly. Fred glared at him. Anna pretended not to notice. "The good thing is that we know a lot more than we did before. That's a start."<p>

"I guess." Anna replied unconvincingly.

"We should get some dinner. You've been working for hours and you look like you're about to collapse.

"I'm so close, Kristoff. I just need to figure out the missing piece."

"You can't do that on an empty stomach. Come on. It'll just take an hour, and we'll go anywhere you'd like."

Reluctantly, Anna bookmarked the page she'd been reading and closed the book. "Are you coming with us, Fred?"

"If you wish it, my lady." Fred replied. He followed Anna out of the room. Kristoff rolled his eyes. Fred was Hans's older brother. Why was Anna so sure that she could trust him?

He, for one, certainly didn't.

"Your Highness, are you sure this is a good idea?" Hans asked nervously. "Not that I don't trust your judgement completely, of course."

"Of course I'm sure. Imagine if I could control both fire and ice. I'd be unstoppable."

Personally, Hans found the idea terrifying. "But what if Elsa is killed or something else goes wrong?"

"It won't. I've researched everything very carefully. I know what I'm doing, Hans. Even if Elsa does die in the process, her sister doesn't know that. We can of course give her false hope. Fetch the prisoner."

Hans headed toward the dungeons. "Awake or unconscious?"

"Surprise me."

Elsa had figured out that if she concentrated every ounce of her being into freezing the lock on her cell door, she could make a small bit of headway. However, the action drained her both physically and emotionally. When Hans came in to say that Blaze wanted to see her again, she was too exhausted to put up much of a fight. Soon, she was en route to another room in the castle. She tried to memorize the twisting path of rooms and corridors that they took, but she soon lost count of the number of rooms they passed through-sometimes more than once. She couldn't be sure of course, but she thought Hans was deliberately trying to confuse her.

Finally, they entered a laboratory. It was filled with metal tools that looked like devices of torture.

Blaze smiled his sadistic smile. "How nice of you both to join us. I think we can begin now." Elsa was forced onto a small wooden table.

"Hmm. Your levels are down." Blaze continued. "Have you been trying to escape? Weren't you told that the dungeons are completely escape-proof? No matter. This only makes things easier for me." He unclenched one fist, revealing a few glowing hot stones. "You'll put up less of a fight that way-while you still can." One by one, he placed the stones in a small circle around Elsa's heart. Each one burned more than the last.

"How much do you know about your 'condition', Elsa? I myself have been researching elemental magic for years and I've found a few things that may interest you. Your magic and your core are intertwined. Without magic, your soul will not be able to sustain itself and you would die. This wouldn't be the case if your parents had had even an ounce of sense and had gotten them removed when you were a small child. As your powers have grown, your soul has become more and more dependent on them. What I will proceed to do is extract your powers, separating them from your soul for the first time in years. It's a slow and painful way to die, but it will keep you alive until you have lived out all usefulness to me. I'm a resourceful man, Elsa. I had more than one reason for meeting you on that mountain, as you aren't the only one who can benefit from your powers. Soon, I will have both the powers of fire and ice. No one-much less you or your sister-will be able to stop me."

The stones felt like they were burning holes through Elsa's dress and into her skin. She could sense her powers were trapped, unable to move throughout her body. She was finding it hard to catch her breath.

Finally, Blaze laid a final stone in the middle of the circle, muttering "Ignio Imlado." as he did so. The pain was quick and harsh, white-hot. "That should be enough to tease them out."

Sure enough, Elsa felt her powers pass through her chest and into the air, where they mingled like small white crystals. Carefully, Blaze trapped them inside a small vial where they continued to dance and weave throughout the vial, seeking escape but not finding it.

Elsa's powers were gone. She was truly normal for the first time in her life.

Just then, a wave of agony-even worse than the one provided by the stones-washed over her. It was fast and horrible: one second Elsa was in agony and the next second everything was blissfully white.

Blaze held the vial up to the light, watching it with a keen interest. "It's amazing that so much fear was caused over just a few small particles." He wasn't ready to proceed to phase two of his plan-yet. There were still a few ingredients he had to gather. It was of no importance to him. He had all the time in the world.

Soon, Arendelle would be his-and after that, the entire world. It was all within reach, but it wouldn't do to get excited and make a silly mistake. This was what he'd been working and training for his entire life.

The Blazeans would rule again-and sooner than anyone thought.

Anna slowly mutilated her bowl of spaghetti. She'd eaten two bites before she lost her appetite. She couldn't stop thinking about her sister. She was worried that she'd be killed before Anna had a chance to find her.

For the billionth time, her mind wandered back to Elsa's powers. She wondered if things would be different if she'd known about them before the Great Thaw. Maybe things would be different.

Just then, Anna's heart jolted unpleasantly and she fell forward, barely catching herself on the edge of the table. The feeling only lasted a minute, but it left her with a powerful sense of loss. She was sure that she was going to be sick.

_Elsa…_

_No. Absolutely not. I don't believe it. This isn't real. _

_It's not true if I don't believe it._

"Anna? Are you all right?" Fred asked anxiously.

Anna nodded, taking a sip of water to clear her head. "Something just happened to Elsa-something really bad. I have to find her. I've wasted enough time as it is. I can't possibly wait for a ransom now."

Fred was already standing up, fishing a few coins out of his pocket to pay for their meals. "Let's go."

However, Kristoff remained sitting. "We leave in two days' time."

Anna was shocked. "That's too long. We need to leave. Right this minute."

"No. Listen, Anna. I have a plan. It's foolproof-theoretically. I just need to contact someone to set it in motion. Please just give me two days."

Anna bit her lip and glanced from her husband to Fred and back again. "All right. Two days-but no more."

"I'll only need two. That should be enough time for Rapunzel to make the journey if she really tries."

"Wait-what?"

"We're calling your cousin."

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	5. The Message

**The next chapter is finally up! I'm really sorry it took so long. I had to get back into the swing of school, basically. **

**Reviews really encourage me to write faster…make of that what you will :)**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own Frozen.**

To put things simply, Princess Rapunzel of the kingdom of Corona was not happy.

Chiefly, she wasn't happy because she was being woken up at three in the morning. Rapunzel was many things, but she was not a morning person.

"Go away." she muttered, trying to roll over.

"Rapunzel, you really might want to see this."

She conceded and sat up, knowing that Flynn wouldn't leave her alone until she saw whatever she was supposed to see. "I'm telling you, Flynn, this better be good."

"Don't worry. It is."

The couple made their way through numerous deserted castle passageways until they reached the palace kitchen. The staff's head chef, Sarita, was the only person still on duty at this early hour. She was currently brewing a cup of tea for a young man dressed in the traditional gold and purple tunic worn by the messengers of the kingdom of Arendelle. He was doubled over and panting heavily, as if he'd been riding for hours without a rest.

"Who is he?" Rapunzel asked. "Flynn, is this one of your more elaborate pranks?"

Flynn shook his head. "No. This guy says he's from Arendelle. Personal messenger to Anna herself."

Rapunzel strode across the room so she could look the messenger straight in the eye. "Who are you? Do you have a message for me?"

The messenger nodded, gratefully accepting the cup of tea Sarita offered to him. "Yes. My name is Dray." He paused to take a long swig of tea. "Princess Anna of Arendelle requests your presence at her castle as soon as you can make the journey. She wrote you a letter." He handed Rapunzel a folded sheet of paper. Unlike most royal documents, it wasn't embossed with Arendelle's royal seal, as if someone had sent it off in a hurry.

It read:

Dear Rapunzel,

This is a letter from your cousin Anna, princess of Arendelle. I hope you are well, especially since we didn't get time to catch up at the coronation last year. I am writing to ask you to come to my kingdom to rule in my stead. I have urgent personal matters to attend to, as Elsa is currently missing. Please arrive as soon as you can. Lives may depend on it.

Your cousin,

Anna

Rapunzel ground the heel of her hand into her forehead, feeling wide awake now. "Thank you, Dray. Please, stay here for as long as you have to until you recover. I'm sure Sarita will be more than happy to make you more tea." She headed back to her bedroom. Flynn was close behind her.

Once in her room, Rapunzel began randomly throwing clothes and other personal belongings into her travelling bag. Every minute seemed to bear down upon her, as if something terrible would now happen since she wasn't out the door yet.

"Rapunzel, what's going on?" Flynn asked. "What does that letter say?"

Absentmindedly, Rapunzel passed it to him so he could read while she packed.

"So, let me get this straight: Anna wants you to play Queen for a few days? Are you sure that's such a good idea? I mean, have you ever taken any kind of diplomacy, Rapunzel?" he added.

"No, but I'm sure it's not that hard. It'll only be for a few days, in any case. I'm sure Anna and Kristoff have everything under control."  
>"Do you really believe that? Because you sound like you don't."<p>

Rapunzel threw one last sweater onto the growing pile of clothes in her bag and tried to make the bag shut. "That's why I'm going."

"All right then. Just give me a minute to pack and we'll be-"  
>She sighed. "Flynn, I'm really sorry but…you can't go."<p>

Flynn stopped midsentence. "Um, I'm sorry. What?"

"You heard me. I don't want you to go to Arendelle with me?"

"You're insane."  
>"Mother and Father are going to totally freak out when they find that I'm gone. You need to tell them where I went."<p>

"So you think it's all right if they go berserk on me? Rapunzel, I'll get in trouble because I didn't stop you! If there is the smallest chance that this will be dangerous in any way, I'm going with you. I'm not letting you go there alone."

"I admire your loyalty, but-"

"No arguments. I'm going or we don't go."  
>"Flynn, Anna wanted me to come. Not you. What if, by going, you accidentally make things worse? I mean, imagine how Anna must feel. Imagine if your sister had disappeared without a trace."<p>

"I don't have a sister."

"Well, imagine that you do!"

"Rapunzel…"

Rapunzel glanced at the clock on the wall across from her bed. Two hours had passed since she'd first been woken up. "I don't have time to debate this with you. Look, I'll make you a deal. If I'm not back in a week and I haven't written a letter stating a valid reason why, you're welcome to come after me. But…I feel like I have to do this alone first. This is my family we're talking about. I feel like I have a responsibility to help them to the best of my ability."  
>"You're too generous."<p>

Rapunzel held out a hand for him to shake. "Do we have a deal?"

After a minute, Flynn shook her hand and sealed the pack. "One week. Not counting travel days. That's it. Stay safe and be careful."

Rapunzel nodded. "Believe me, I will be."

Rapunzel made the trip to Arendelle Castle in just over eight hours. To her surprise, she couldn't go right into the castle when she arrived, even when she explained who she was and why she was there. She had to go through an extensive security process before she could even pass the front gates.

"What's going on?" she asked a guard as he rifled through her travel papers. "What's with the heightened security?"

He shrugged. "Orders from the princess. Your guess is as good as mine."

That was when Rapunzel wondered if something big was going on.

That feeling only increased when she finally reached the royal study, where she'd been instructed to wait.

Anna was already there, throwing things randomly into leather bags and sacks. She managed a small wave in Rapunzel's general direction.

"Hi, Anna. What's up? Not that it isn't great to see you or anything…" Rapunzel said.

"Hi, Rapunzel. It's really nice to see you again. I'd love to catch up, but I really have to go now. Instructions are in the desk drawer. I'll be back in a few days maximum. You won't be away from Corona long."

"Flynn would be glad to hear that. Anna, where are you going? Is it something to do with Elsa? Do you know where she is?" Rapunzel kept thinking up more and more questions.  
>Anna sighed. "I might as well tell you now…" As quickly as she could, she told her cousin about the events of the past few days, from the wedding to the melting of the ice palace. "Like I said, we'll only be gone a few days. It's really nothing to worry about."<p>

"So, let me get this straight. You're saying that you're going on a journey to find a fire wielder who may or may not even exist? And even if he does exist, you don't really know where to find him? Not to mention that his family allegedly liked to torture and kill ice wielders-like Elsa. This all sounds incredibly dangerous and possibly suicidal." Then again, last year Elsa had accidentally frozen the fjords and the entire kingdom. Rapunzel figured she probably shouldn't judge. Every family had their problems to face.

"I know it sounds crazy and insane, but I really have to do this for Elsa. Don't sign over the kingdom to anyone, no matter what they say. Even if you hear news that we're all dead, don't sign over the kingdom. Ever. Promise?"

"I promise."

Just then, Kristoff came into the study. He was followed closely by another man Rapunzel didn't recognize. He had a shock of bright red hair that she almost found distracting. Kristoff handed Anna a thick envelope. "This was just inside the palace gates. It didn't have a return address."

Anna opened it. Immediately, something fell into her outstretched palm. She recognized the object instantly-it was Elsa's crown for formal occasions. There was also a note, shoved down near the bottom of the envelope, which read:

Princess Anna,

You have three days to bring a signed statement of abdication to the address below. I wouldn't dawdle. Your sister's life happens to be on the clock and my trigger finger is getting a little antsy.

There was no signature, but there was a return address: 371 Rue de Roi.

"Rue de Roi. Hmm…I've never heard of that place." Kristoff muttered.

"Neither have I." the redhead added.

"Wait-there's something else…" Anna skimmed the letter again, using her index finger to keep her place.

Come without an army or don't bother coming at all. No tricks. You know who's going to pay the price.

Anna knew she had to proceed as planned, but she was still worried. What if something went wrong? If anything happened to Elsa, she wasn't sure what she'd do. She shook her head, trying to clear it.

Rapunzel touched her wrist lightly with concern. "Anna, are you all right?"

Anna took a deep breath and nodded. "Yes. Kristoff, Fred…let's go."

"What if it's a trap?" Kristoff asked.

"It definitely is. That's a chance I have to take." Anna pulled her cloak more tightly around her and turned to Rapunzel again. "Are you going to be all right here for a few days? Guards will be posted outside all entrances and exits to the castle at all times."

"Thanks. I'll be fine, Anna. Good luck finding Elsa."

"Thanks." Anna turned to lead the way outside. When she was sure that no one could hear her, she couldn't resist murmuring "We'll need it." under her breath.

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	6. The Plan

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**Disclaimer: I still do not own Frozen or its characters.**

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Chapter 6-The Plan

After given the matter a bit of thought, Anna had come up with a plan. She knew it wasn't the best plan she'd ever come up with, but it would have to do. While Rapunzel made sure nothing bad happened back in Arendelle and gave the illusion of considering signing over the kingdom, Anna, Kristoff (and Fred) would look for Elsa at the address they'd been given. Unfortunately, the address happened to be miles and miles away. It was a week long journey in the best of times. Anna also had no idea where the palace was. Currently, the entire party (along with Olaf) were in Kristoff's new sled, while Sven ran as fast as he could across the frozen landscape.

"Where to?" Kristoff asked.

"The ice palace." Everything had started there. If they were lucky, maybe they could find clues.

Two men wearing black masks were waiting for them at the remains of the ice palace. "We are here to escort Princess Anna to King Blaze's castle." one said.

Anna exchanged a silent look with Kristoff and then Fred. "I'll get to the palace on my own time."

"I'm afraid we must insist that you-" The man reached for Anna, and that was enough for Kristoff. He clocked him hard in the side of the head and he crumpled to the snow. He turned to the other soldier, while Fred drew his sword. The soldier was already running down the mountainside as fast as he could go.

"Coward." Kristoff muttered.

"And don't come back!" Fred yelled at the soldier's retreating back.

Anna was looking at Kristoff with awe. "That was amazing! I didn't know you could do that!"

He shrugged modestly, feeling a blush creeping up his neck. "Ice harvesting is not for the weak, you know."

Fred had begun to pace again. "What do we do now? They're obviously expecting us."

"We have to catch them off guard." Anna replied. "That'll be our best chance. Obviously, those two were very inexperienced. They even left tracks."

The small group began to follow the tracks: back down the mountain, over hills, through valleys and forests that glistened with ice. It would have been beautiful if they hadn't been in such a hurry.

Just after the sun set they entered a small fishing village. It consisted of a town hall, a small market, one restaurant, one inn, and a few shops. They had all seen better days. Anna stopped in front of the inn and looked at it appraisingly. "Hmm. What do you think?"

"Good enough for me." Fred said, yawning."

"I don't know." Kristoff objected. "The tracks will be gone by morning and we'll be back to square one."

"I know that. But Anna, we're all tired. It's been a long day and we've made good progress. To keep walking would be a mistake-and I'd rather sleep in an inn than in some cave out in the cold."

Kristoff knew he was going to be outvoted. "Well…I guess there's a chance we can ask the locals if they know where we're supposed to go."

So, Anna, Kristoff, and Fred rented rooms in the inn while Olaf and Sven opted to sleep outside in the stables.

Anna tossed and turned for hours, trying to get to sleep. The bed was lumpy and uncomfortable, and she was still miles away from finding her sister. She was barely even close.

Finally, she gave up on sleep, slipped out of bed, and headed downstairs. She left a small note for Kristoff so he wouldn't worry. The lobby was almost deserted. The small bar area was occupied by only a few fishermen who were late returning home. They were trading the day's stories and experiences.

"Hello. What can I get you tonight?" the bartender asked politely.

"Water's fine, thanks." She'd never developed a taste for alcohol. As she sipped her beverage, she listened to strains of conversation from the group next to her.

"It was the strangest thing." someone was saying. "It really was. I was out on the water all day and didn't catch a single fish. Didn't even get a bite."

"Same here. I was in the coldest part of the lake, but it was still too warm to fish. Some of them were already dead from the heat and floating on the surface. Food's so scarce that I brought them home anyway. Marta won't know the difference."

Before Annna knew what she was doing, she'd walked over to them. She tugged her travelling cloak a little higher over her head so she wouldn't be recognized. "It was too warm to fish today?"  
>"Yeah. The water temperature was unusually high." one of the fishermen replied. "So? What's it to you?"<br>Anna made a quick decision. "Take me and a few friends to the coldest part of the lake tomorrow morning." She handed each of the fishermen a handful of gold coins, easily more than they'd ever made in a year.

"Yes, of course. My boat is called _Bird of Paradise_ and it's the color of the sky. You'll know it when you see it at the docks." the fisherman who had spoken first said. He was still looking at her strangely. "Wait-who are you?"

Anna doled out a few more coins. "Don't ask any questions."

"You did _what_?"

"I got us a ride-maybe even to Blaze's castle."

"Okay, two things. One: you don't even know this guy. It's common knowledge that you don't allow perfect strangers to take you out on the water in a small and rickety boat. Also, how do we know he's even taking us to the right place? Blaze might be somewhere completely different-maybe in another country." Kristoff stated.

"He wants to be found. He wouldn't hide somewhere faraway or inaccessible. He wants control of Arendelle, and he'll do whatever he has to do to get it. Anyway, the water temperatures mysteriously rose for no clear reason. He has fire powers, Kristoff! Who else could it be?" Anna replied.

"Could be a trap."

"Of course it's a trap-but it's a chance we have to take. We leave at dawn."

The next morning, Anna was up well before the sun. She let Kristoff sleep in until the first rays of dawn peeked through the window.

Then she pushed him off the bed.

"Ow! What was that for?" he grumbled, rubbing his arm. He was sure a bruise was already starting to form.

"We have to go to the docks."

"Ugh." Kristoff climbed back into the bed and covered his face with a pillow. "It's too early."

"Get up. Now." Anna didn't sound as if she were in a mood to argue, so Kristoff reluctantly got up, still muttering darkly under his breath.

"I still don't think this is a good idea, you know."

"Neither do I, but it's the best lead we have."

Ten minutes later, an odd party was assembled on the town's docks: Anna, Kristoff, Fred, Olaf, and Sven. As they were all tired, no one talked-except for Olaf. Despite the early hour, he was talking a mile a minute about how much he'd always wanted to go on a boat ride. His incessant chatter was making it extremely hard for Anna to think, and Fred looked like he was about ready to dismember the snowman where he stood. She was grateful for the distraction, though-it meant that she didn't have to dwell on the fact that she might be leading her friends into a trap.

Just then, the fisherman from the bar walked up to them. "Hello!" he called when he saw Anna. "This is my boat." He pointed to a long fishing boat with three separate compartments for gathering fish. "Are these your friends?"

Anna nodded. "I'm Anna, and these are Kristoff, Friedrich, Sven, and-"

"I'm Olaf and I like warm hugs!" Olaf cut in.

"He talks, yes?" the man said, looking only slightly put out. Anna had to give him credit for that. Most people wouldn't react to Olaf as though he were only a strange bird.

"Yes, he does." she answered simply.

"Well, climb in and we'll be off." He waited until everyone had managed to cram into the boat's stern before he pushed off from the docks. "My name is Jack. We will reach our destination within the hour."

Anna learned many things over the course of the next forty five minutes. She learned that Jack loved to talk-about anything and everything. She also learned that he had two children (both boys), he knew almost everything there was to know about the lake's fish population, and that a heat wave had been plaguing the lake for a couple months.

"For nine weeks now, the weather has been unusually warm here. Fish have been dying and our economy has suffered greatly. Rumor has it that a sorcerer with the powers of fire has moved into one of the old castles on the King's Road-and he's extremely powerful." Jack continued.

Something in Kristoff's memory was jogged. "The King's Road…what is that?"

"You don't know what the King's Road is? My boy, you must have been living under a rock. For hundreds of years, our rulers lived in the castles on the King's Road. You may know the road itself by a different name-the Rue de Roi. The families who made it their home were said to be descended from mythical gods and were blessed with magical powers. They were cunning and often ruthless-especially to their subjects."

Apparently, one of their descendants had returned.

Everyone noticed that the water temperature was gradually rising. At first, the change was subtle, but soon it began to burn skin.

Jack looked worried. "It has spiked overnight." The opposite shore drew closer, and soon the boat made landfall with a soft thump. "This is where I leave you. I can go no further. My boys will depend on me for food tonight."

"Thank you." Anna said, giving him another handful of gold. "Please, how can we get to this King's Road?"

"It's in a small village about a two days' journey from here. Keep heading due northwest. You'll find it." He pointed up into the mountains, where Anna could see something glowing faintly in the morning light. She thought it was a small bonfire and bit her lip nervously. There was something up there, whatever it was.

They thanked Jack again and watched as he began to row across the lake in the opposite direction, humming an old folk song.

Two days…Anna knew they were cutting it close. Too close. Unfortunately, they didn't have a better option. "Come on." She began to walk in the direction of the glow, wondering where their path would eventually lead.

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